The Moths and Butterflies 
36° 
and the extreme specialization of the butterfly’s mouth an interesting and 
illuminating gradatory series is dis¬ 
coverable by examining moths of suc¬ 
cessively more specialized character. 
The development of moths and 
butterflies shows the usual character¬ 
istics of devel- 
and butterflies, 
orchard-trees 
in 
opment with 
complete meta¬ 
morphosis, the 
larval or cater¬ 
pillar stage be¬ 
ing quite dis¬ 
similar from 
the pupal or Fig. 508. — Bit of wing of monarch but- 
chrysalid sta^e terfly, Anosia plexippus, showing scales; 
. . fe . ’ some scales removed to show the inser- 
and that m tion-pits and their regular arrangement, 
turn from the (Greatly magnified.) 
adult or imaginal stage. The immature stages of 
Lepidoptera are more familiar than those of any other 
order; we have all seen, and recognized for what they 
are, the caterpillars and chrysalids of various moths 
The great silken cocoons found on 
winter-time are known to contain 
the pupae of giant moths, as the 
Cecropia, the Polyphemus, and others, 
while the soft-bodied green tomato- 
worms are as well known to be the 
young (larvae) of the hawk-moths. 
As a matter of fact the young stages 
of no other of the insects with com¬ 
plete metamorphosis are so nearly 
unmistakably characterized by their 
common possession of certain well- 
defined features. The larvae or cater¬ 
pillars, for example, with very few 
exceptions, possess, 
in addition to 
J j JL/VOUVOOj 
Fig. 509.—Sucking-proboscis of a sphinx- three pairs of jointed legs on the first 
moth; at left the proboscis is shown three segments behind the head, 
coiled up on the under side of the head, . . . r r . 
the normal position when not in use. f rom three to five pairs of short 
(Small figure, natural size; large figure, fleshy unjointed legs or feet called 
one-half natural size.) prop-legs, on certain abdominal seg- 
